


The Three Rituals

by FishEyenoMiko



Series: Married in Night Vale [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Aftercare, Blood, Blood Drinking, Bloodplay, Community: bloodyvalentine, Community: kink_bingo, Community: love bingo, Declarations Of Love, Engagement, Latino Character, M/M, Magical Tattoos, Marriage Proposal, Rituals, Screaming, Tattoos, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-23 03:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FishEyenoMiko/pseuds/FishEyenoMiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos proposes to Cecil.  Given that this is Night Vale, there's a catch...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Three Rituals

**Author's Note:**

> Betas: [AvatarMN](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarMN) and [jelazakazone](http://jelazakazone.dreamwidth.org/)  
> Written for [kink_bingo](http://kink-bingo.dreamwidth.org/).  
> Also written for [love_bingo](http://love-bingo.livejournal.com/).  
> Also written for Bloody Bingo on [bloodyvalentine](http://bloodyvalentine.dreamwidth.org/).

Carlos really should have known. In this town, that could be beautiful or terrifying or both at once, he should have known that even relationships would be abnormal. No, Carlos thought, not "abnormal"; that was unfair. Just... not the same as they happened elsewhere. But the fact remained that when he'd looked through the Night Vale rules as to how to go about courting your loved one, he'd found something alarming. After some thought, he decided he'd talk to Cecil about it.

Cecil had been thrilled about going back to Gino's for their date. Their first had been there, and Carlos had a good reason for going back. Cecil no doubt thought it was just because it was their 6-month anniversary, but there was more to it than that...

After dinner, and using the brick to break the window and escaping from their door-less room, the couple went for a walk through Mission Grove Park. There were fewer people and less screaming in terror than last time; Carlos was surprised to find that the quiet actually felt... strange. He looked up at the sky; there was less void and more stars than usual.

"It's lovely, isn’t it?" said Cecil, also looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, it is."

There was a pause. Cecil seemed fine, but Carlos was a bundle of nerves... Taking a breath, he plunged forward.

"Cecil, I need to talk to you about... something important."

Cecil turned, looking at Carlos with a happy, open expression.

"Yes, Carlos?" he said energetically. 

Carlos shook his head. Sometimes Cecil was like a puppy... a big, dark, three-eyed, tattooed puppy...

"I was looking at the Night Vale rules for relationships, and..."

Cecil tilted his head cutely. "'And'?

Carlos sighed.

"I'm a little concerned about the Th-" he coughed nervously. "The Three Rituals," he finished quickly.

Cecil's eyes blinked; first the main two, then the one on his forehead. After an awkward pause, he laughed. 

"Carlos, you don't have to worry about _those_. They're only for people who are getting ma-"

Cecil's mouth fell open. His hair, which had been shifting through various shades of blue, suddenly turned bright pink. Carlos wondered if his own cheeks were the same color right now...

"Carlos..." Cecil whispered. "Are you...?"

Carlos smiled. "Yes, I am. Will you marry me, Cecil?"

Cecil made an odd, inhuman, but not entirely unpleasant noise. He caught Carlos up in a tight hug, lifting him off the ground.

"Oh, Carlos, I'm so happy!"

"I take it that's a 'yes'?"

"Of course it's a yes!" said Cecil, finally setting Carlos down. He grabbed his hands and looked deep into his eyes. He was grinning like a loon.

Carlos smiled back.

"Cecil, this is wonderful, but..."

"But...? Oh! The Rituals. What's the problem?"

"Well, the Screaming sounds fine, and even the Blood I can deal with, but... the Whipping..."

"What about it?"

Carlos sighed. Of course Cecil would see nothing weird about this. He'd grown up here; it'd been this way his whole life.

"It's just..."

"'Just'?" 

"It's... painful. I'm assuming."

"Well, of course it is! It's supposed to be-"

"I know, Cecil; I get the... the whole, 'couple experiencing pain together' thing, but..."

Cecil gave him an adorably puppy-ish look. "Oh, Carlos..."

There was a shift beside them. Carlos turned, and a few members of the Sheriff's Secret Police stepped out of the shadows. One of them ran up and tossed confetti over the happy couple.

"Isn’t it romantic?" he said.

"C'mon," said another officer, grabbing Cecil and Carlos by one hand each and dragging them off, "it's almost midnight; that's the best time for the Rituals!"

 

They were whisked out of the park; there was a bit of a blur, and Carlos found that he and Cecil were suddenly at the town square.

Cecil was still grinning, his hair a riot of shifting colors. Carlos smiled and leaned in to kiss his boyfri--his _fiancé_.

They were pulled apart, and made to stand on either side of the square. The idea, Carlos had read, was that the couple scream themselves hoarse so that they don't scream while being whipped. In fact, if one of them were to scream, the engagement was invalid, and they'd have to wait six months to try again.

Lisa Mfume, head of the Night Vale Marriage Committee, stepped forward.

"Okay," she said, "Start screaming until you can't anymore. Carlos, you proposed, so you get to decide who starts."

"I’ll start," said Carlos.

Mrs. Mfume nodded.

Taking a breath, Carlos shouted, "I LOVE YOU, CECIL!"

"I LOVE YOU, TOO, CARLOS!" Cecil shouted back.

"I CAN’T WAIT TO GET MARRIED!"

"I CAN'T WAIT TO BE ABLE TO SPEND EVERY DAY WITH YOU!"

And so it went, on and on. A crowd gathered, cheering on the couple, and "ooh"ing and "aww"ing when they said something particularly sweet or sappy. Amongst the declarations of love and happiness and the desire to be together, there was the occasional embarrassing revelation, like Carlos telling about the time he fell out of a car while trying to make time with a fellow university student, and Cecil telling of when he accidentally let the black widows loose in the home economics room.

Soon, Carlos' voice began to give out, his shouts rusty and strained. Cecil's voice lasted longer, but it did weaken eventually. 

When it was obvious that Carlos and Cecil had screamed themselves hoarse, the crowd let out a cheer. Carlos smiled at Cecil. Cecil pretty much hadn't stopped smiling the whole time, but his grin did get a little bigger, his lips parting to show his jagged, shark-like teeth.

Members of the Wedding Committee walked up to the happy couple, leading them to the site of the next Ritual.

"Okay," said Mrs. Mfume, "your smocks are in the changing rooms."

Carlos entered the changing room to see a backless smock hanging up on a hook. He stripped down to his underwear and put on the smock. It was essentially a long skirt with a strap that went around the wearer's neck. 

Stepping out of the changing room, Carlos turned to see that Cecil had already changed and was waiting. He gave him a quick kiss. Then the Marriage Committee lead them to the Whipping Area.

They stood face to face in the middle of a circle. The floor was mottled with reddish-brown splotches, but Carlos tried not to think too much about why. There was a pole with manacles hanging from it.

Carlos and Cecil were stood face to face. They raised their arms so their hands could be manacled; the shackles were designed so Carlos and Cecil's hands were close enough to touch. Cecil grasped Carlos' hands. Carlos smiled.

Carlos looked down at Cecil's chest; the only thing covering it was the thin straps of his smock. Carlos had long ago realized that Cecil's tattoos moved; now he watched as they slid over Cecil's dark skin, moving towards his chest.

"Okay," said Mrs. Mfume to Carlos, "Which of you should go first?"

"Me," Carlos managed to croak out. They would go back and forth, one of them being whipped, then the other; but at least this meant Carlos would be done first. That sounded selfish, but Cecil seemed so much less _bothered_ by the whole thing.

Carlos bit back a whimper as the whip struck his back. Oh, God, how was he going to deal with ten of these? 

It was Cecil's turn. He flinched when he was whipped, but recovered quickly, giving Carlos another toothy smile. Carlos smiled back weakly. Then he tensed as he anticipated the second strike. 

The second lashing didn't seem as bad as the first, but the third--even as sore and raw as his throat was, Carlos had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. Then came the fourth, and the fifth, and... Carlos didn't want to keep track; he wanted to shut down and just not think of _anything_ until it was over. But he couldn't; he had to keep track, to know how much longer he had, how much more he had to endure...

Carlos' only solace was Cecil. It was funny; when they'd first met, Carlos had found Cecil's eyes disconcerting. Not just that there were three of them, but that they were just blank, milky white sclera. Now, though, looking into those pale eyes was reassuring. Cecil was here with him; here _for_ him. He occasionally felt Cecil's fingers gently stroke his own. Looking up, Carlos saw that Cecil's smaller tattoos, and those that usually resided on his fingers, had crowded around his hands, as if trying to get to Carlos. The tattoos had done this other times they'd held hands; Carlos suspected they liked him. And now, with their fingers entwined, Carlos could feel them against his skin, leaving warm trails where they brushed against him. Despite the pain he was in, and knowing there was more to come, Carlos couldn't help but smile.

Carlos winced at the feel of the whip. Six; he was over half way done. Seven... it was all starting to be sharp, undefined pain all over his back.

The eighth lash was particularly painful; Carlos once again had to bite back a cry. But then came nine, and finally ten. Carlos allowed himself to slump forward, leaning against his own arms.

As with the Screaming Ritual, the crowd cheered as soon as Cecil's last whipping was done, celebrating the end of the Ritual.

"And now the Ritual of Blood," said Mrs. Mfume. She turned to Carlos. "Who do you want to go first?"

Carlos looked at Cecil. He had that adorable puppy expression on his face. Still not able to talk very well, Carlos gave him a look.

Cecil nodded vigorously.

Carlos nodded towards Cecil.

They were released, and Carlos was lead over to a piece of furniture that looked not unlike a massage chair. Sitting on it, Carlos leaned forward against the padded front.

Hands gently stroked Carlos' neck, then slid down his arms.

"Ready?" Cecil's voice creaked.

Carlos nodded.

Something warm and wet and wonderful slid across Carlos' back. Cecil's tongue moved slowly, following the paths made by the whip, licking off Carlos' blood...

Cecil's tongue moved slowly and gently, practically caressing him. Each lick soothed his stinging skin. Cecil's fingers, resting on his sides, occasionally made gentle circles. He also made a happy cooing sound now and then, which Carlos found both quite relaxing and very cute.

Finally, Cecil finished and got up. Carlos stood and let Cecil take his place. Carlos saw that there was a chair for him to sit on.

As Carlos sat down, he looked at Cecil's back. The man's dark, lovely, tattooed skin was marred with garish lines and welts. There was still blood seeping from many of his wounds. Carlos was aware of the dangers of blood-borne illnesses, but decided that Cecil was worth it.

Carlos leaned forward, hesitantly running his tongue across one of the fresher wounds. It was mostly as he expected; thick and coppery tasting. But there was something else; an odd, pleasant tingling. It danced on his tongue for a moment, then as he swallowed, it slid down his throat. Instead of sliding down to his abdomen as Carlos expected, the tingling settled in his groin for a moment; enough to excite him but not enough cause physicaly arousal. 

After a moment, the feeling faded, so Carlos licked another wound. He felt the same pleasurable sensation. He didn't wait for the feeling to subside before licking a third trail of blood off of Cecil's back. It prolonged the feeling, but didn't intensify it as Carlos thought it might. Still, it was a pleasant feeling, and Carlos wanted more of it. Sighing happily, Carlos continued licking his fiancé's blood-covered back. 

For his part, Cecil was making happy cooing noises as Carlos licked him. Some of the tattoos that had slipped around to his front had now come back, some of them even going back to the spots they usually occupied. One of them, however, was following Carlos around; sliding over to where Carlos was licking, swirling happily as he made skin contact.

As pleasant as lapping up Cecil's blood felt, Carlos began feeling weak. Whether it was the blood loss, or the residual pain, or some effect of Cecil's blood, Carlos suddenly found everything going black.

 

When Carlos came to, the first thing he was aware of was that his back stung like crazy. But when he opened his eyes, the sight of Cecil's beautiful, concerned face made him feel much better.

"My beautiful Carlos," Cecil sighed, reaching out and caressing Carlos' cheek.

"Cecil..."

Looking around, Carlos realized they were in his bedroom. Cecil must have brought them here after he passed out.

"I put some ointment on your back. Would you mind...?" Cecil held out a jar of ointment, shaking it a little.

"Not at all! I'd be happy to."

They both sat up. Cecil handed Carlos the jar and turned around. Carlos opened the jar to see it full of whitish, pleasant-smelling goop. He carefully applied it to the marks and welts on his fiancé's back.

As he applied the ointment, a thought occurred to Carlos.

"Dammit..."

Cecil turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder (Carlos half expected it to keep turning...). His hair, which was currently pale brown, grew dark, as it often did when he was upset or nervous.

"What's the matter, my dear Carlos?"

"I disqualified us, didn't I? By fainting...?"

"Oh... OH!" 

Cecil whipped around, smiling broadly. His hair turned bright red as he grabbed Carlos' free hand (the other was still holding the ointment).

"No, my sweet, you didn't do anything of the sort! People faint from time to time during the Rituals," Cecil shrugged casually. "It's fine, our betrothal has been approved!"

"Oh! Oh, thank God, I thought I'd ruined it..."

"Oh, Carlos..." Cecil leaned forward and kissed Carlos. "I'd be willing to wait another six months, or six years, or six _centuries_ if it meant being your husband."

Carlos smiled. "Thanks. 

"Oh!" Carlos continued, realizing he was in his underwear. "Where are my clothes?"

Even as he said it, he saw them laid neatly on the chair next to the bed.

"Ah, there they are." As he got up, he turned to Cecil. "You brought them?"

"Yeah," said Cecil.

"Thanks, Cecil."

Carlos had picked up his trousers and reached into the right hand front pocket. He pulled out a small box.

"I know I asked you already, but I'd like to do it a little more formally."

Sitting down, Carlos opened the box.

"Cecil, now that we've been approved: Will you marry me?"

"Yes, I will!"

Smiling, Carlos took out the engagement ring. It was black onyx with amethyst inlaid across the top, and a touch of silver in a stylized moon shape.

"I know engagement rings are sort of traditional-"

"No, I love it!" Cecil began to reach for the ring, then remembering how these things were to go, put his hand down. 

Smiling, Carlos took Cecil's hand and slid the ring on his finger. Then he leaned down and kissed his knuckles.

"I should go," said Cecil, getting up off of Carlos' bed. "If I stay any longer, people will start to talk."

Carlos laughed.

Cecil had his pants on, and now he picked up his shirt, which he'd put with Carlos' clothes. He seemed to be considering putting it on, given the state of his back.

"I... guess I can just go home topless."

Carlos laughed. He picked up the ointment off the bed.

"Don't forget this."

"Keep it," said Cecil. "I have more at home."

"Okay. Thanks."

They kissed, then Cecil headed for home.

As Carlos watched Cecil fade into the night, he smiled. This town was weird and wonderful, and Carlos considered himself lucky to have found someone to share it with.


End file.
